


My Favorite Toy

by katzekazet



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, Asphyxiation, Blood, Blowjobs, Bondage and Discipline, Dominance, M/M, Rape/Non-con Elements, Rough Oral Sex, Violence, Yandere!Levi, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-16
Updated: 2014-03-10
Packaged: 2017-12-29 14:13:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1006375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katzekazet/pseuds/katzekazet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time he had a normal life with a normal routine. He worked at a game store, selling cards and board games to people seeking old-fashioned entertainment. He had the best sister in the world who took better care of him than his own parents did when they were alive, and by most peoples' standards, they were very good parents.  But that changed one evening on his way home from work. Eren was soon to become someone else, someone he didn't recognize, and would eventually come to prefer it that way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Start Of It All

The room was quiet, albeit the sound of the ceiling fan overhead whirring. He could hear it squeak, over and over from its loose fixture, poorly installed as it rattled from the force of the blades spinning rapidly. The pullchain clicked in rhythm against the glass light cover, the sound overly loud in Eren's ears. 

Everything was dark and he couldn't move, save for the small bit of motion his legs could make, though it wasn't much. He could tell they were bound to the footboard, his wrists tied to the headboard. He was glad, at least, that his captor had given him a soft place to lay, but he didn't want to be there. He couldn't even remember how he'd managed to arrive where he was. The last thing he could remember was walking home from work. He'd been scheduled to work the evening shift, given the chore of closing up, taking out the garbage, making sure all the lights were off and the doors locked. A game store was his place of employment, dealing directly with the public. They sold everything from board games to card games and even sold the occasional computer game, though only the really popular MMORPGs people went nuts over.

The key just barely made its way out of the locked door before a sudden scent filled his nose and mouth. He'd tried to fight back against it, but darkness soon took over his vision and he felt his limbs go limp as he slouched to the concrete. Everything else past that was a blur. Eren couldn't recall anything.

The brunette's head was pounding and that constant click, click, click from the fan was really starting to get to him. He wished he could figure out where he was, but nothing seemed familiar. The bed was hard, the room felt small judging by the sounds filling the room, and it smelled overly clean. The room smelled faintly of bleach and for good enough reason, that bothered Eren to no end. Only hospitals ever smelled of cleaning fluids, smelled overly sanitary, but he knew he wasn't in a hospital.

It wasn't until he heard the door open, then close again, did his mind go blank and his breathing hitch. He swallowed thickly and lied perfectly still against the cool bed sheets, silently praying that if he pretended he was asleep, the person walking in would turn around and leave right back through that door. Perhaps he could pretend he was dead from whatever it was that was on that rag, make them think that they'd ended up killing him from the fumes.

Whether they believed the trick or not didn't seem to matter because the next thing Eren felt was the sensation of cool fingertips brushing along the side of his face. They trailed down along the length of his jaw, across his chin, then down the front of his throat, causing the brunette to swallow out of nervous reflex.

Any chances of that playing dead idea working was really thrown out the window then.

"I can't believe you're actually here," came the voice that cold hand belonged to. The words seemed to slither out of his mouth like a poisonous snake spitting venom, but the venom oozed.

The man's voice was deep and smooth, and it scared Eren. He didn't like the way the man's tongue shaped each letter, the way his lips formed each vowel. It was overly calming, but all it did was make Eren sick to his stomach.

He didn't want to be there. He wanted to leave, wanted to go home to his warm apartment. Mikasa would have dinner ready for him, overly caring and protective like she always was. If it wasn't for her, he probably would't eat half as well as he did. She always did say he needed to take better care of himself.

"Let me go, please. Please let me go," the brunette begged, his voice shivering. "I'll keep quiet. I won't report it to the police if you just let me go."

Eren felt pathetic, but what else could he do? He was at the mercy of some strange man, in an environment he had no idea of, and was bound. He was honestly close to tears, but he forced himself to keep them in. He had to try and stay as calm as he could, keep his head clear, though panic was slowly starting to settle in.

"Let you go? But you just got here... Why would I let you go now when I've finally managed to get your attention?" The man asked as if he was sincerely confused at the request the brunette made.

Suddenly, he felt a heaviness on his stomach and those cool fingers at his throat, squeezing it tight. He could feel the small bones in his neck bending under the pressure, pushing against his windpipe and cutting off the airflow, pulling ragged breaths and chokes out of him. 

His arms and legs thrashed against the tight holds keeping him bound to the bed and eventually tears made their way down his cheeks.

"Promise me you won't ever ask that again, Eren," the man demanded from his prisoner, his slender fingers gripping tighter and tighter the longer he had to wait for an answer.

There wasn't any way Eren could possibly verbalize his response, so he did all he could do to nod quickly, clawing at nothing but the air he so desperately needed, willing to do anything for air. He could feel his movements getting harder to accomplish, his arms getting heavier until suddenly his throat was let free. 

Quickly, the brunette gasped roughly at the air, gasping and coughing as he wheezed. The realization that his captor knew his name didn't hit him until later. 

"Good boy," the deeper voiced man replied and he ran his fingers up to comb through Eren's soft hair, trying to soothe and calm him from his distress. "You're mine, Eren. Nobody can have you ever again now that I've gotten my  hands on you. You're my treasure, my special item I have to protect." 

All Eren could do was lay there, his neck throbbing. Each breath felt like razorblades filling his windpipe, every whimper feeling like needles.

How long was he going to be there? Would he ever be found alive? Or would he be dead, his body lying cold in a ditch somewhere? A sob pulled from his raw throat at that thought. He thought about Mikasa and what she would think, identifying his body. How would she take seeing the last of her family dead on a cold, metal table? How could she handle going on through life without him? He was all she had. 

"Oh Eren... Please don't cry. You don't have anything to worry about with me here; I'm going to keep you safe." 

Safe was the last thing that Eren felt.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually a sudden thing for me to practice my writing skills for NaNo. Haha... Though, since I've started it, I actually have a storyline plotted out in my head. I have an idea where I want this to go, but I'm not too sure how long it'll be. I'll try my best to keep it going, though!
> 
> Let me know what you think and definitely leave some constructive criticism! I'm always up to improve.
> 
> Next chapter will hopefully be a little bit of backstory with Levi and how he came about finding Eren in the first place. And hopefully the smutty stuff, too.


	2. Target In Sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi meets Eren for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything from hear on out is going to lead up to what happened in the very first chapter. So definitely look forward to it! Next chapter will most likely be focused more around Levi since he hasn't had much screen time yet. 
> 
> Also, you guys are really fantastic and I'm so happy you enjoy it.

Eren woke up to the sound of his alarm beeping loudly in his ear. A groan pulled from him as he reached over to the nightstand, hitting the sleep button for the second time that morning. He always set the alarm at least an hour early for that reason. Even he knew how much of a slacker he could be.

Eventually, he pulled himself out of bed and made his way to the bathroom, his feet scuffing across the floor. A shower, brush his teeth, and by the time he was finished, Mikasa would already have breakfast on the table.

The sweet smell of apples and cinnamon hit his nose and his mouth instantly watered. When he’d entered the kitchen and saw the bowls on the table, he immediately took a seat and grabbed the spoon sitting beside it.

“This smells delicious!” the brunette said as he leaned forward so far into the bowl, his nose almost touched the contents inside.

His sister let out a snort and took a sit across from him, picking up her own spoon and stirred her breakfast a little. “It’s only oatmeal and quit hovering over your bowl like that… You look like a dog.”

Eren frowned, but sat up and finally dug in, humming with delight as the taste of the spice mixed with the sweetness of the fruit danced across his tongue. 

“I can’t help it that I love your food, even if it is ‘just oatmeal.’ And I’m not a dog. Do you see me slobbering everywhere?” Eren asked, speaking with his mouth full of food.

Mikasa perked her brow high at the question as if he’d answered it all on his own without her input. She ended up smiling at him, though. He really did act just a kid, even if he was twenty-three.  Not much about him had changed throughout the years. He still took an hour to get out of bed, had to be reminded to eat. At least he remembered to bathe and brush his teeth on his own.

Eren rolled his eyes at her and grinned, shoveling his food into his mouth as if someone was going to take it away from him before he could finish. He almost choked, but managed to swallow before he had the chance.

“What’s the hurry?” Mikasa asked, frowning a little when she heard the coughing. “You’re getting oatmeal all over the table.”

“Sorry, I just want to hurry up and get to work. Armin said we got a new shipment of board games last night and I wanted to look through them before they’re put out on the shelves. Besides, I’m opening today, so I can’t be too late.”

That was one of the perks of working at a game shop. Eren got first dibs on everything that came in before anyone else could.  A lot of the time, things he wouldn’t think would be all that popular would sell like hotcakes and he’d mentally kick himself if it was a board game he really wanted.

Don’t get him wrong, he loved the occasional video game as much as the next guy, but nothing could beat quality tabletop gaming. The shop even held D&D events, which he made sure to always enter.

Armin Arlert, Eren’s co-worker and best friend, would always tease him for it, but the blonde didn’t have much room to talk. He was a card gamer, always entering tournaments and spending serious cash on high quality cards to add to his deck. He took really good care of the cards, keeping them in plastic sleevelettes to keep the edges and corners from bending or wearing down and fraying.

Once, after Armin bought a brand new card, roughly fifteen dollars, it happened to get bent right through the middle and the blonde almost killed a man, that very man happening to be Jean Kirstein.

Jean was the bane of Eren and Armin’s existence, but there was something so endearing about the horse-face that Eren seemed to really like. He couldn’t place his finger on it, exactly. Maybe it was the way he laughed, or how passionate he was when he would get into character during their D&D events, but he always managed to tie Eren’s stomach up into knots.

Perhaps he would stop by the store today, Eren thought to himself and with that thought, he placed his bowl in the sink, grabbed his jacket and dashed out the door. Not without saying by and “Thank you for breakfast!” to Mikasa first, though.

The brunette didn’t get halfway down the street before his phone started to buzz in his pocket. Quickly, he pulled it out and smiled when he realized it was Armin.

“Hey, what’s up? I’m on my way right now. We’re going through that shipment first thing—“

“I hate to interrupt, but get here as fast as you can. The store’s just been robbed and they wrecked everything. There’s glass everywhere, the front of the shop is completely—“ Armin was suddenly interrupted by a deeper sounding man, possibly a police officer wanting to take his statement.

Eren almost couldn’t believe it, but the man in the background was proof enough. He shouted to Arlen that he would be there as fast as he could, closed his phone, and dashed down the street towards his workplace.

*******

Armin was right.

The front of the store was a complete mess, glass was all over the ground, board game boxes were thrown every which way, some were crushed while others kept their perfect shape as if they’d accidentally fallen off the shelf.

“It looked like someone drove their car through the building,” Eren stated when he met up with the blonde, talking in hushed tones so as not to bring too much attention to himself.  

“Someone did drive their car through the building,” Armin replied, looking up at his friend with a worried expression. “They apparently drove off afterwards.”

Eren gave Armin a look of disbelief. How could someone drive after doing something like that? Wouldn’t that have totaled the car?

As if he could read his mind, “The front of the building is made of glass. That isn’t enough to completely wreck a car inoperable. “

With a sigh, Armin ran a hand through his blond hair, scratching the back of his head as if wondering what to do now?

The owner of the shop was already there fussing with the police. One of the men looked overly irritated; clearly not enjoying being yelled at and having someone tell him how to do his job. His eyes were cold, grey like stone. His partner was taller, hair combed over to the side and completely perfect. He didn’t wear a hat like the shorter man did.

After a few minutes, the capped officer turned to his partner and dismissed himself. Eren couldn’t quite make out what was being said, but from the looks of it, the raven couldn’t handle the distressed shop owner anymore and decided to talk to someone else.

That’s when their eyes met, cool steel locking with fresh green. A chill ran down Eren’s spine at the sight of those orbs staring him down as the man passed by, stray pieces of glass crunching underneath his boots.  He looked angry, eyes sunken in as if he hadn’t slept for days.

Perhaps that’s what it was like for an officer of the law? Perhaps that’s why he was in such a bad mood? Eren thought to himself that he would be in a bad mood too if he had to deal with a dumbass driving into a building and being yelled at after not getting much sleep the night before, if at all.

Eren stepped out of the way to give the shorter officer some space to walk, though he stopped right in front of the brunette.  The officer might have been at a lower height, but damn was he ever intimidating.

“U-um,” was all he was able to get out before he was interrupted.  Seemed like that was the theme of the day: Interrupt Eren Day.

“Did you happen to see anything?” the raven asked, his voice smooth like silk, though curt with his words. He most definitely fit in with the profession of police officer.

He made Eren nervous.

“N-no, Sir, I just happened to get here after everything happened. My friend, Armin Arlert?  He called me after it happened and—“

“That’s enough. I didn’t ask for a damn novel. What’s your name, brat?”

Brat? Well, that miffed him quite a bit and it definitely showed on his face. Name calling hardly seemed necessary, regardless of whether or not the man was having a good day. Did he think his day was going any better?

“It’s Eren… Eren Jaeger.” 

*******

**  
**"Eren..."

Heavy breaths filled the room, accompanied with the occasional gasp. 

Cool, slender fingers slid up and down along Levi's length, gripped tightly enough to give himself just enough of pleasure so that it wouldn't be a tease, seeing how he was keeping his pace almost painfully slow. 

Oh how badly he wished his hands were Eren's. The raven imagined them, Eren's fingers, strong and warm as they pumped him hard, pulling those ragged gasps and moans from his own mouth. Ugh, God, how lewd he would sound, so disgusting, so filthy... and all because of that brat. It sent shivers up and down his spine to pretend. 

Ever since he'd made eye-contact with that kid he'd wanted him all to himself. There was a gleam in his eye, this spark that only he had, that Levi wanted. And when he'd frowned at being called a brat? Oh, god, please. He'd give anything to make him create that expression again.  Just once more... yeah, like that. Growl at me, shout at me, try to bite me from anger, Eren... I'll put you in your place. 

Just one time he'd love to have that boy there his grasp. Ooh, the things he would do to him! Years in the police force had Levi fit and contantly on edge. He was a trained machine and boy did he love to abuse his rights... What would he do? That was his favorite part to imagine. Eren's eyes black and blue from all the punches he'd taken, all the knees to the nose, kicks to the jaw, slap after slap after slap across his pretty, little face! 

Over and over and over, his hand moved faster and faster, gripping tighter and tighter until Levi was bucking up into his own hand. His opposite clung so tightly to his bedsheets that the knuckles turned white. His nails dug through the fabric and forced crescent moons into the palm of his hand. It stung, but he couldn't care less.

"E-Eren!" The raven finally shouted out as he came hard into his hand, his voice louder than it normally would be because of the smallness of the room. He shivered and arched, riding out his orgasm until he eventually laid still, his chest rising high and falling low. 

God damn, he was sick and he knew it, but all Levi did was get up. He walked his way to the bathroom and got ready for his evening shower. He had to get clean before he fell asleep, wash away the evience of what he'd done.

 


	3. Don't Lose Control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nov. 12, 2013: (For some reason it's saying it was updated November 2nd when I just updated it today?) Sorry for the delay in updating. A lot of stuff happened IRL, my dad had to go to the hospital twice to which I had to accompany him, there was the thing with plot prepping, and then NaNo on top of all that. WHEW I have a lot on my plate! 
> 
> Thank you everyone who has been patient with me and I hope that you enjoy the chapter!

Heavy boots walked across the perfectly polished floor of the police station as the shorter officer made his way to his personal office. Along the way he grabbed himself a cup of coffee, adding only a bit of creamer and giving the dark liquid a stir. There was a box of fresh doughnuts beside the coffee pot and he took one of those as well. That would add as his sweetener.  He didn’t like much, but Levi enjoyed sugar every once in a while. Keeping sugar intake under control was vital for a healthy body and for his teeth and gums! Speaking of teeth, he didn’t worry about the coffee staining them any; that’s what whitening strips were for and he had a whole medicine cabinet full of them.

Well, the entire medicine cabinet wasn’t full of only whitening strips. He kept his toothbrush in there, his toothpaste, mouthwash and a box of Q-Tips. He also kept his medicine in there, the kind his doctor prescribed along with the occasional bottle of pain killers, but he didn’t enjoy taking them. Pills were unnecessary and uncomfortable to take, plus he was certain his doctor was not only insane, but out to get him.

Levi wouldn’t even bother taking another step into that nutcase’s office if not for the fact that he was ordered to by the chief of police for PTSD. “Go to the shrink or get kicked off the force,” he said, so clearly Levi made sure to stay well with his “shrink”. He loved his job far too much to get kicked off. He worked too hard to get where he was just to be pushed out of his profession because of an illness, which was all the police force’s fault to begin with. If they did a better job, things might not have gotten as bad as they did sometimes out there on the streets.

But eh , c’est la vie, right? What’s done is done and he couldn’t really do anything about it. Besides, he liked it. Yeah, that’s right. Levi liked the fact that things got so bad it warped his mind. He was able to let loose, set his demons free, and not worry about what anyone else was going to say about his behavior.

He wasn’t the only one who abused his rights as a Caretaker of the Law. Who was even kidding? Lots of people did, though he wasn’t going to start giving out names. That wouldn’t be very sportsman like, now would it? He wouldn’t want someone to go out there and start spreading noise about him, so why do it to someone else? There was also the fear that if he ratted someone out, they’d rat him out, and he didn’t need that kind of attention. He got enough of it as it was for his cut throat, no nonsense style. And that was well within reason of his actions under the watchful eye of the uppers. If they knew he was ten times worse than what they knew, he’d be thrown into prison with the key thrown away.

Plenty of times they’d almost done just that, only to be stopped halfway through the process by a very persistent Erwin Smith.

Ahh, Erwin Smith… Such a perfect picture of the American Dreamboat Man. He was tall, blonde, blue eyed, strong and incredibly fit, so noble and as faithful as the German Sheppards on the K-9 unit. Speaking of K-9 unit, that’s where Erwin was placed most of the time. It was sweet, watching him train the dogs into the fighting machines they molded into.

Erwin was great at his job and he was well liked throughout the station, especially by the uppers. So when Erwin Smith stepped in and said that “Levi was only doing his job, that it wasn’t his fault he shot to kill. If he hadn’t, then we’d be one officer down,” well, they believed him.

Of course Levi was very pleased with this, and favored the man more than the others, though he knew he was indebted to him, which he absolutely hated with a passion.

With a sigh, Levi stepped away from the refreshments table and headed off to his office. Once there, it didn’t take nearly five minutes before that handsome, blonde man stepped into Levi’s office, closing the door behind him lest any ears happened to be listening in.

Blue eyes locked onto grey ones, though Levi said nothing, merely perking a brow when Erwin was silent after the door made its soft click, indicating that they were closed off to the whole rest of the world.

“May I help you?” The raven asked before taking a sip of his coffee, wincing ever so slightly when the hot brew singed the tip of his tongue. “As you can see, I’m very busy with… things.”

Those things being the sugary pastry and police reports for the terrible hit at run just the day before, as well as other reports. That was his least favorite part of his job, which is why he put it off until this morning rather than completing it yesterday.

“Well, I’m concerned with your image,” Erwin replied and sat down in a chair right across from the shorter officer.

“My image? What of it?”

“You know what of it, Levi. You broke a man’s arm when he tried running away with a bag full of stolen items from the department store…”

“He ran, I pursued,” Levi replied without missing a beat, shrugging his shoulders casually. He pulled off a small piece of his doughnut and dipped it into his coffee, popping it into his mouth before finishing the rest of his statement. “It’s not my fault they guy had faulty bones? He should drink more milk. I suppose he will now, considering.”

Erwin rolled his eyes and rested his chin against his hand, watching Levi as he ate his sugary breakfast. “You know, if it was up to me, I’d cover for you every time, but it’s getting to the point where I can’t keep covering for you anymore. The chief is already starting to give me the stink eye for hanging around you so often, plus this with the brutality? Eventually he’s gonna think—“

“No. I see how it is. I see where this is going,” Levi stated flatly, eyes focused on his coffee. “You’re not worried about my image, Erwin. You’re more worried about how you look in the eyes of everyone else. Don’t try to hide it. You’re worried that your reputation is going to be tarnished because you’re friends with the beast of an officer Levi. That’s what it is, isn’t it? That’s the truth of it all. I’m not dense.”

It was true that Erwin worried for his own image, what with him covering for Levi all the time, but it was mainly that people weren’t taking his word for it anymore. What was Levi to do if even Erwin, the Knight in Shining Armor, wasn’t taken seriously or wasn’t believed?

“Who would you turn to if they decided to dismiss all of my words, Levi? Who would actually take up for your obvious abuse of the system and make up an excuse as to why you did what you did? Absolutely nobody, that’s who. You think you know what they say about you behind your back, but you have no idea,” the taller man replied, his hands tightening into frustrated fists in his lap, his gaze still locked onto Levi’s whether he was returning it or not.

Levi sat there quietly, listening, but saying nothing in return.

“I’m worried they’re starting to catch on, Levi. That’s all it is. If you’re smart, you’ll tone it down for a little while, try to keep it under control. I understand that you’re stressed out all the time. Hell, everyone is. I am, for that matter. But, you can’t keep taking it out on people. Even if—“

“They’re criminals!” Levi shouted in retort, almost spilling his coffee in his lap. “They deserve the treatment they get.”

“Even if… they’re criminals, Levi. They’re human, just… misguided ones; unlucky ones.”

Of course Levi didn’t agree with Erwin, though he made a good point. If he’s caught, he’ll have his rights revoked and he’ll be thrown into prison. He couldn’t afford that. He had bills to pay, an apartment to take care of.

With an exaggerated sigh, the raven sat his coffee cup down onto his desk and ran his hands through his hair, slicking it back only to have it fall forward into his face again the moment his fingers left the strands. “Alright fine, I’ll... “behave” myself for your sake and for mine… I guess I don’t want people looking down on you when all you’ve done is protect me and I definitely don’t want to be taken away.”

Erwin let out a heavy sigh of relief he didn’t even know he was holding in, but it felt great to let it out, like a weight was taken off his shoulders as he exhaled. His smile was faint, but it was there and Levi  noticed it.

“Thank you. You know I’m just worried about you,” Erwin stated as he stood up from his chair. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

With that, the taller man turned around and left Levi’s office, gently closing the door behind him.

He supposed it was true, that Erwin made a point, but it was going to be so difficult to control himself. It wasn’t that he just loved to beat the shit out of people, it was that he had a temper from hell and those people pushed him over his edge. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have to treat them like he did. The only time he ever felt the need to attack someone that wasn’t out of anger was out of attraction.

There was a fine line between love and hate and the idea of making his lover squirm and shout sent shivers through his spine.

Currently, Levi didn’t have a lover, but he did have someone on his mind. One, green eyed brunette that worked at that dorky, little game store a mini van decided to use as a drive through just yesterday.

Ah yes, that was his new goal, but just thinking about the guy, Eren was his name, and the idea that he had to control himself made him incredibly angry. This was going to be more difficult than he thought.

And it was.

It took Levi everything in his being to keep himself calm when going out on patrol. The only thing that made it worth it was the fact that Eren’s game store was in his jurisdiction.

Oh happy day it was when he realized he could see Eren any time he wanted to and it wouldn’t be considered strange. Though, when he said “see” he meant it quite literally. Levi didn’t actually go into the game store, no. That would’ve been too weird. Even Levi knew that he himself didn’t look the type to be into geeky board games, and he wasn’t into them, either.

No, Levi would drive by and park across the street. He’d watch the store, eat his lunch with Erwin in the seat next to him, all the while the blonde had no idea what his shorter friend was thinking about. It was  normal to patrol an area more than usual that just had a car crash through a building. Erwin wouldn’t have suspected a thing.

Levi was good at that, keeping his secrets.

He would’ve been really upset, but he wasn’t when he drove by one day to see the glass had been fixed. For a few days it was covered up with plywood and Levi couldn’t see inside, so one afternoon he walked over to the store and told the manager to fix the windows, that it was a fire hazard.

Not wanting to deal with Levi anymore than he had to, the manager quickly agreed and two days later, there it was: fixed and good as new.

The raven stared out of his window towards the store in delight, but his eyes really lit up when he saw Eren pass by. It looked as though he was setting up a display, showing off a new game perhaps, and it was then that their eyes met for the second time. Green met with grey and the both of them froze, just staring at each other. It felt like centuries had passed by before Eren finally broke the gaze and disappeared within the depths of the game store.

Soon…

Inside, Eren made his way behind the counter to join his friend Armin, but Eren looked nervous and his friend could tell.

“You okay?” Armin asked, concern heavy in his voice. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Not a ghost, but… Do you remember the officers who came down to investigate the shop when the car crashed?” Eren responded, playing idly with a scrap of paper he found beside the cash register.

Armin perked a brow, but nodded, “Yeah? Why?”

“They’re outside… Right now.”

“….So? They’re probably keeping an extra eye on the place or something. A car did just come barreling in through the front door a few days ago.”

“I guess so, but the black haired one stared at me just now… It was weird… Like… looking at a hungry lion,” Eren went on, his palms feeling a little sweaty.

Armin shook his head and patted his friend’s shoulder, “What’re you even talking about? I think you’re worrying for nothing, dude.”

He was probably right. What was a guy like Eren to a cop anyway? Just another bystander, right? Nothing suspicious or untrustworthy about Eren.  But even still, he couldn’t quite shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.  Even the day the accident happened, that cop looked at him strangely.  It made Eren nervous and he didn’t like it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it! Chapter three is complete! 
> 
> Again, sorry for the delay, but lots of stuff happened and yadda yadda. But back to business... 
> 
> I have no idea where this story is going, even still, so I hope that it's turning out alright. I'll have to think hard on what to do next, what to focus on... next chapter might be about Levi stalking Eren outside of just patrolling the game shop. I'm not sure yet.


	4. Lets Get To Know Each Other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been a long time, huh? Sorry about that!  
> Here's the fourth chapter for your viewing pleasure~ I gave you guys something extra long to make up for the super long wait in between. I do hope you enjoy it <3 Hopefully, I won't have to make you guys wait that long past this point. Start of a new year means a lot more muse and better outlooks on effort and inspiration.
> 
> And for the people who will clearly be curious as to what type of monkey bars I'm talking about: [These are the types of monkey bars I'm talking about.](http://domeclimber.com/imgs/8ft-3.jpg) I was always petrified of these things as a kid.

Eren was in the back room getting ready to head home. There were a few other coworkers still hanging around, though they weren’t anyone Eren really knew all that well. Sure, he’d spoken with them before, listened in when they complained about a boyfriend not living up to expectations or how someone cheated on somebody else.  It was all the same talk every time, so he didn’t really feel that much of a connection to anyone rather than Armin.

Armin worked at the game store long before Eren ever joined the team, though when he did, they managed to hit it off rather quickly and seamlessly. They bonded rather well together and before either of them knew it, they’d become best friends.  Plenty of times would the blonde come over to watch a few movies or have a video game all-nighter. Armin wasn’t really one to fall in love, but he always heard of Eren’s occasional crushes and the most recent: Jean. 

Yeah, Eren seemed to be crushing on Jean more and more he saw him, though they guy always annoyed the brunette more than he could apparently handle. Usually, when Jean would walk into the game store, Eren would ignore him right on the spot, only because the horse-face found it cute to pester Eren to the point of making him blush. Truth be told, Jean probably had a bit of a crush on Eren, too, but he wouldn’t ever talk about it. 

Once everything was put away, he told whomever it was that was left in the store that he was heading out, he put on his coat, then walked out onto the sidewalk outside.  He started on towards his apartment when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention nearby. The sidewalk was dark, minus the lights of the shops illuminated, and he couldn’t see what it was very well. Eren narrowed his eyes to try and focus on the area in hopes that he could make out what It was when suddenly, something moved again. And from the looks of it, it was a person. They were walking towards him! The first thing Eren thought of was that creepy cop he saw earlier that day. He couldn’t have seriously waited out for him like that… Would he? Eren was frozen in place, eyes wide, as he watched the figure walk closer and closer towards him until the light from the streetlamp overhead showed off who it was.

“Yo, dude, what’s the matter?” Jean asked, his hands resting casually in his coat pockets.  Of course Eren stared at him and eventually, when he regained control of his body, he promptly kicked him firmly against the jerk’s shin. 

“What the hell’s the matter with you! Why are you just chillin’ over there in the shadows like some kind of creeper?” Eren asked, almost fuming with fury.  His hands were clinging to the front of his jacket so tight he was sure the fabric was going to tear by the force of his grip. People didn’t just hang out around that area at night. It was a rather dangerous part of the city, even during the daytime if the previous accident to the front of his store wasn’t enough of a clue in. 

There wasn’t anything particularly special that pulled in the ragged types, but it wasn’t the nicest place. The streets weren’t kept up with and the sidewalks had cracks in them. If you weren’t careful, you could trip and fall, possibly hurt yourself.  There were a lot of rundown buildings in the area, too. Ones that were abandoned and forgotten about. Apparently the city didn’t have enough time in their schedules to keep the area nice and tidy. Again, it wasn’t the worst place they could be, but it definitely wasn’t an area Eren felt safe lingering out and having a chat in. 

“For your information, I was having a smoke. Didn’t want to smoke near the building, so I walked over to the corner,” Jean replied, completely ignoring his shin, even if it was throbbing a bit in pain.  Being smacked or kicked wasn’t anything Jean was new to. Apparently there was something about his personality that warranted abuse by most people he came across.  He’d come to accept it.

Eren huffed, hands still clung to his jacket, and he turned on heel towards the direction of his apartment, Jean following alongside him. “What’re you doing here, anyway? It’s late.” 

“I know it’s late and I knew that you got off late tonight.” 

“How’d you know? I didn’t tell you my schedule.”

“Armin did,” Jean said without missing a beat. 

Eren seethed. 

God dammit, Armin. He knew that Eren had one of the biggest crushes on Jean, and for a while at that.  Was he trying to play match maker? Because it seriously wasn’t going to work.  There was absolutely no way that it was going to work.  Jean didn’t like him; he liked Marco. Everyone knew that. 

Marco was one of the regulars who came in for D&D gatherings when they held them at the game store. They were always hanging off of each other, Jean and Marco, and it was pretty obvious they either had something going on, or one of them wanted it to happen. Eren figured that Marco was too shy to actually ask something of Jean past a friendship and Jean was too dense to notice a good thing when he saw it. It was kind of sad, really, how they looked at each other and Eren wished deep down that it could be him that Jean looked at like that instead of Marco.

“Well, what do you want?” Eren asked as he huffed once more before turning towards the direction of his apartment. Of course, Jean followed right along beside him. 

“I wanted to ask if you were going to join in the next D&D gathering later on this week.” 

Eren wasn’t a huge D&D fan, but he played on occasion. However, for some reason, Eren wasn’t feeling up to it. He didn’t feel like hanging out with everyone as they LARPed and got mad when hookers stole their pants. He didn’t feel like seeing Jean laughing with Marco when they’d tease each other about sneaking off to make out in the inn—let me roll to see if we succeed. It made Eren cringe just thinking about it and he shook his head after he thought on it, albeit not for very long. 

“No, I don’ think so,” he replied as he kept his attention to the sidewalk, counting all the cracks in the concrete. “I’ll probably be busy or something.” 

Jean frowned hard at that and he made sure that Eren knew it. “Aw, what!? Busy? Doing what? You don’t do anything except for working and going back home. What could you possibly be busy with that you can’t join us?” 

Wow, that was rude. Eren paused almost immediately at that and quickly jerked his head to Jean’s direction, giving him the most poisonous scowl he could muster up. 

“What? It’s true. What exactly do you think you’re going to be doing come the weekend?” Jean asked and leaned forward to close the distance between the two of them. His pointer finger poked right at the center of Eren’s chest and he smacked Jean’s hand away.  Did he think he could get away with being playful after he insulted him like that? Yeah right. 

“Don’t touch me, you ass,” Eren said and turned down a side street, completely off course. It was the complete opposite direction of his apartment, but he had a destination in mind. 

Jean blinked as he watched Eren get angry and start walking away before he finally caught up to the situation and started to follow after the brunette. “Whoa, hey wait! I was only kidding, man. Don’t get your pants in a twist, come on.” 

Ha ha, that was funny, Eren thought to himself.  Really, he knew that Jean was only joking around, but he couldn’t help but be even a little bit hurt by his comment. It was true, after all. Eren really wasn’t going to have much to do on the weekend.  He never really did. He wasn’t the type to go out on Friday nights to clubs. He didn’t drink to get drunk and party and he definitely didn’t go out and do drugs. Even if he did try to get high, Mikasa would kick his ass when she found out and Eren wanted no part of that. He knew how good she was at defending herself. He’d seen it firsthand plenty of times when they were in high school. Mikasa was the type of sister who protected her brother rather than needing the protecting.  Even when Eren was perfectly capable of handling things himself, there came Mikasa to the rescue. 

Eren could hear Jean behind him, trying to apologize and back pedal, but he ignored him. What was he doing anyway? Trying so hard to apologize and make Eren feel better. He’d never done that before now. Before he realized it, Eren had reached the park nearby and he made a beeline to the monkey bars. 

He was tall, so it wasn’t difficult for him to climb, but that’s exactly what he did. In order to get Jean to go away, or at least create some satisfying distance between them, Eren climbed up to the top of the monkey bars and sat there, crossing his arms and frowning rather pointedly at Jean.  He propped his feet up against the bars across from him and got very comfortable. He wasn’t planning on going anywhere any time soon. 

“Fuck you. I’m definitely not going now.” 

Jean groaned and ran a hand through his shaggy, blonde hair. “I said I was sorry, okay? Come on, I didn’t actually mean it—“ 

“Yes you did.”

“…Okay, I did, but only because you’re making up reasons for not going! Armin’s going to be there.” 

“So what if he’s going to be there? He can do what he wants to do. I’m not his caretaker.” 

That seemed to trigger something in Jean that made Eren inwardly grin. Jean just sort-of stared at Eren after that and he tense up his fists. It was just a little bit difficult to see him in the dark, but his eyes had adjusted enough for him to notice that he was getting frustrated with him. Eren almost laughed when he watched Jean start to attempt to climb up after him. 

“What are you doing?” Eren asked, though he didn’t move from his spot.  

Jean was wobbling as he climbed up, refusing to look down at the ground as he got higher and higher. 

What? Was Jean afraid of heights? Eren didn’t know that…

“I’m…I’m climbing up to you, dumbass. What does it look like I’m doing?” Jean asked, pausing just long enough to speak and look up at Eren before he started to climb up the bars again. When he started back, he started to shake again, being extra cautious about where he put his feet and hands. His palms were getting a sweaty from nervousness even in the crisp cold of the fall weather. 

Even when Jean finally got up to the top of the bars, Eren didn’t move though he didn’t look at him either. Perhaps, he thought to himself, he’d deserved the opportunity to be there since he’d worked so hard and was clearly scared to be where he was. 

With a heavy sigh and making sure he was secure, Jean looked over at Eren. “I’m sincerely sorry. I realize that was super rude and like, I don’t want to piss you off. But damn, you are just so easy to piss off. You should probably fix that temper of yours.” 

Eren just rolled his eyes, but he did look over at him at that. “It just isn’t my thing, okay. God, you’re so annoying. Can’t you just take no for an answer instead of following me everywhere?” 

Jean took that as an acceptance and he smiled, feeling much better. “No, I can’t.  And that’s another lie. You’ve been to the D&D gatherings before. You love tabletop games. Just stop making excuses and say that you’ll come okay? Bertholdt is going to be the DM.” 

That made Eren laugh. “Bertholdt? A dungeon master? Doesn’t he stutter?” 

“Hey, he’s a great friend of mine and he only does that when he’s nervous.  Besides, he’s a great DM. You haven’t seen him in action. When he gets into the part, he gets so sucked in. He’s like a narrator he’s so good. It’s like all his nerves disappear when he’s the DM. A totally different person comes out.” 

Eren perked a brow at that. Sometimes D&D players were weird. He couldn’t deny that. “Well, if you say so. As long as he’s not going to stutter up the whole time, I’ll go.” 

“Damn, you sure are mean.” 

A smile crept over Eren’s face at that, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he made sure he was steady on the bars, then leaned back and looked up at the sky, watching the stars. The park was completely dark, minus the occasional streetlamp around the benches. But those were far away enough so that it was easy to see the glimmers in the sky. He did that a lot when he was alone, come out to the park and sit up for hours just looking at the stars. He’d prefer to sit on a bench, not worry about falling through a hole considering he was sitting on playground equipment, but he’d done it for so long that he didn’t really have to worry about it anymore. A bench was just more comfortable by that point, but he couldn’t see them as easily from a bench like he could from the bars.

Jean wanted to join him, lay back and relax, but he was too scared of falling that he decided against it. “How are you not terrified of falling down? We’re up high enough to actually hurt something if we did fall. How does that not scare you?” 

“Meh,” Eren stated, giving his shoulders a soft shrug. “It’s really not all that scary. I won’t fall, so I don’t have to worry about it.” He glanced over at Jean after he said that and Jean frowned a little. Eren smiled, though. Jean always ended up making Eren smile, even when he was annoyed with the guy. 

“What?” Jean asked, perking a brow. 

Eren shook his head and turned to look at the stars again, “Nothing. It’s nothing. I guess I’ll—“He blinked when he was cut off by Jean, surprised.

His mind was racing suddenly and his hands gripped firmly to the bars when he realized what had happened. Jean kissed him. Right there on the monkey bars.  Jean kissed him square on the lips. Eren’s heart started pounding in his chest and he hoped to God that Jean couldn’t hear it, even though it was drumming in his own ears.

Before he even had the chance to enjoy it, Jean pulled back and Eren licked his own lips, his eyes still a little wide as he continued to look up at the sky. When he finally looked over at Jean, they were both blushing, though happy that the darkness hid it. 

“What…” Eren stated as he matched his gaze to Jean’s. 

They were both speechless and the silence was so thick it could be cut. Eren wanted to fix that, to make some kind of noise, to ask what all that was about, but he couldn’t find his voice so he sat there in the darkness looking at Jean. 

Jean was the first to speak up and he cleared his throat first, moving a hand to the back of his head to run it through his hair. “Uh… Sorry. Just…  I dunno. That was stupid. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.” 

Eren continued to blink, looking at Jean, but finally he was able to speak once Jean did and he rose his hands up, waving them a bit. “N-no, don’t be sorry, but… I’m confused.” 

Jean frowned at that. “What’s so confusing about a kiss?” Now he was confused. 

With a sigh, Eren sat up a little bit more and turned to face Jean better.  He winced a bit, tilting his head to the side as he spoke, “I thought you and Marco were… Uh… You know…” He wiggled his finger in the air a bit, speaking with his hands.

“I know what?” Jean asked, perking a brow.

“I thought you two had a… thing for each other.” 

“What? Marco? What made you think that?! We’re just friends—What? No, man. He has a girlfriend,” Jean replied, raising his hands up in the air and waved them even more than Eren did. It was a bad idea because it almost threw him off balance and it took Eren grabbing his arm in order to steady him.

“Marco does not seem like the type to have a girlfriend… You two are always just so… I mean, you two LARP about sex in D&D… What else was I supposed to think!?” Eren said, his voice getting a little higher towards the end. 

Jean rubbed the back of his head as he looked at Eren, smirking just a little bit. “We were just playing around, man. But seriously, no… I mean, Marco is my best friend, but… I don’t like him like that.” 

At that, Jean leaned forward and pressed another kiss to Eren’s lips, keeping the kiss soft and light. This time Eren was expecting it and he returned it. He returned it slowly and gently moved a hand to the back of Jean’s head. He tangled his fingers into the strands he was able to get a hold of and pulled him closer, closing his eyes as he leaned into the kiss. 

Neither of them felt it was all that safe to sit on top of the monkey bars and make out once they wanted to start shifting around and had a scare of almost slipping. So, they moved to a bench nearby. Thankfully, that particular bench’s lamp had apparently blown out so they didn’t have to worry about being seen. 

Jean’s lips were warm and soft on Eren’s, just like he’d imagined them to be, just like how they looked  when he took a quick glance at them as he listened to Jean speak.  His tongue was hotter and Eren opened his mouth wider when he felt it gently ask for acceptance as it trailed along his bottom lip. 

Eren couldn’t help but snicker just a little bit at that. It was just like Jean to be oddly  timid and gentleman-like. Any other time he’d pick on Eren for laughing at him, but not then. He was gentle, ignored Eren’s laugh, and pulled him closer against his chest. Eren was almost completely in Jean’s lap before he knew what was happening and he more than willingly accepted it, wrapping his arms around Jean’s neck and pushing further into the kiss. He wanted it deeper and faster, more heated to warm them up from that cool breeze blowing past, rustling the leaves that had fallen to the ground.

They pulled back to look at each other, breaking the kiss only to gather more air, panting heavily. If the light were on their faces, they’d be able to see just how into it they really were. Glazed, green eyes looked back into brown ones and he wriggled a bit in his seat. God damn, he never realized how amazing Jean’s eyes looked up close.  All of Jean’s face features were breathtaking, especially when he was panting like he was. 

A trembling hand reached up and trailed its fingertips along the side of Jean’s face, all the way down along his jawline. When he reached  his chin, Eren tilted his head up, leaned forward and caught his lips again, returning to where the left off. 

Jean groaned when Eren took control and he tangled his fingers into the heavy fabric of the jacket he’d been wearing. He tugged him closer, forcing their bodies together, arching into him as he got lost in the kisses. 

Eren had just started to grind his hips against Jean’s lap when a certain voice rang out nearby. The both of them almost jumped out of their skins when they heard. 

“What the hell do you two think you’re doing?” Officer Levi growled, shinning his flashlight on the both of them, more specifically at Jean who looked just like a deer in headlights. Good. He’d better be scared.

Jean stumbled over his words as he tried to spit out what it was they were doing there on that bench in the middle of the dark, in the middle of the park at almost midnight, but apparently Levi wouldn’t have anything of it. 

“I could write you up for so much shit your head would spin right of your shoulders,” he replied and then looked over at Eren. He stayed there, glaring at him for a little bit longer.  He wanted to take him right then and there. Take him back to his home, lock him up and keep him from doing this… disgusting behavior with anyone else but him. Nobody deserved Eren except Levi. “I know you.” 

Eren shivered at that, his own eyes going wider than even Jean’s when he’d realized who it was. It was the officer who’d been hanging around the game store, gave him the chills, and looked at him with those eyes. If a look could kill, Eren would be dead right then and there. He was sure of it.  “W-we’re so sorry, officer. Things just got out of hand and—we’d only just—I mean…” 

What was he doing still sitting there in Jean’s lap? Good God, he had to stand up quick. He stood to his feet and brushed the wrinkles out of his clothes, especially his pants, and hoped with everything that he had that it wasn’t obvious how he’d felt just moments before they were interrupted. 

 “W-we’ll go, sir. Right now. Right?” He pointedly looked at Jean and grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet and making to escape. “We won’t do it again!” 

Levi frowned, almost sickened by their display as he shined the light back and forth between the two as they walked away. This wasn’t good… The kid was staring to get close to other people. Who knew how often they did things like that? Of course Levi didn’t know that was their first time, but to him, it was already too much. His line of attraction was starting to get tarnished and he was not okay with that. He wanted to beat that kid he was with, beat him to a pulp until he was hardly breathing and begging to be left alone.  But, he couldn’t do that. He promised Erwin that he wouldn’t do things like that for a while. 

His old self, though. The both of them had better of been lucky or else that night wouldn’t have ended so smoothly. Just letting them walk off without any type of punishment left Levi completely sick to his stomach as he made his way back to the patrol car. 

“What was going on?” That familiar and handsome blonde asked as Levi got inside, slamming his door just a tad too harshly.

“They weren’t doing anything but making out.” 

Erwin laughed coolly and pulled back onto the street for them to continue their patrol. “Ah, to be young like that again… I remember what that was like.” 

“It was disgusting. They were at each other like animals,” Levi replied sharply, glancing over at his partner.

“Of course they were. They’re young. At least they were only kissing. I’d hate to mess up their evening further than just a bit of embarrassment.” 

Levi rolled his eyes and scoffed, glancing out the passenger side window.

“Surely you know what that’s like. Didn’t you ever explore when you were younger?” Erwin asked, looking over at Levi with a perked brow.

“Not really. I was too worried with other things.” 

Erwin nodded, smirking softly to himself as he listened to Levi continue to be curt with him. He was used to it, though he didn’t let him get away with it often. “You seem tense.”

“I am.”  

“Do you need help with that?” 

Levi looked over at Erwin, perked a brow, and flashed the man a soft smile. “Yeah.”

 


	5. Playful Words Are The Most Dangerous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh, things are starting to move along! I dunno really what to say about this chapter, so I'll just leave ya to it! 
> 
> Also, thank you all sooo, so so much for the kind words and everything. You guys are the absolute best and reading everyone's comments made me so happy and excited. I just can't thank you all enough.

All the way back to the apartment, Eren’s mind was blank. He couldn’t think of anything except for the fact that he saw him again. Him. That creep. That officer that kept pushing himself into his life. He wanted to scream or something, kick something over and let out how he was feeling. Suddenly, very suddenly, Eren was feeling trapped and he wasn’t even caged. 

“—are you listening to me?” Jean asked as he shook Eren a bit by the shoulder, causing the brunette to blink out of his thoughts. 

Eren hadn’t even paid attention to Jean, had almost forgotten about him right there beside him, his hand still holding onto the other male’s.  “Huh?” 

They were still walking down the street, though they were much closer to Eren’s place than the last time he’d noticed and he let out a heavy breath, one he didn’t even realize he was holding in.  When he realized that he was still holding Jean’s hand, he squeezed it tighter, holding it closer to him.  He was feeling loads better at knowing he was almost home where he could get dinner, watch a little bit of tv, then finally lay down and sleep in his warm bed. 

He didn’t necessarily feel any safer with Jean besides him, but he did like the fact that he was there and Eren wasn’t alone. That fact alone was enough. 

“I said that was embarrassing as fuck, but why haven’t you said anything since we’ve gotten out of the area? Are you okay?” Jean asked, furrowing his eyebrows just a bit, concern in his voice. “And why did he say he knew you? Are you, like, some kind of closet rebel or something?” 

Jean smiled towards the end of his sentence, but Eren didn’t find it funny, not when he knew why the guy knew him. “No, I’m not a rebel. That’s the officer that wrote the report for our shop accident and he’s been following me around ever since he talked with me.” 

“Uh, he’s a cop. Are you sure he’s following you instead of just doing his job of, oh, I dunno, patrolling? That’s a thing cops do, Eren.”

He had to frown again, much harder that second time around and he shook his head, letting out a soft whimper when he did.  

“I’m not crazy, Jean. Armin basically said the same thing, but that’s not it. I know for a fact that he’s been following me around.” 

Jean looked skeptical, pretty convinced that Eren was just acting weird. He figured that he understood. The officer was pretty creepy and he didn’t really want to have another run in with him any time soon. But following him? “You sure it isn’t just a coincidence?” 

Eren almost stomped his foot against Jean’s. “This isn’t a joke, dammit. Okay, look… The guy was with another officer. A blonde one. And I haven’t seen him at all. If it was just a coincidence, wouldn’t I see that guy, too?” 

He forgot the fact that Erwin was right beside Levi when they had made eye-contact. Eren was so caught up in being uncomfortable he didn’t even realize that the other cop was there. But to him, that didn’t matter. 

Jean hummed in thought at that, thinking very carefully on it. There was the possibility that the other guy could have been on other patrols. Perhaps he was busy with other things and couldn’t join the creepy cop? Or maybe he was on vacation or something. To be honest, Jean wasn’t very knowledgeable in police matters and he didn’t feel like he was allowed to actually evaluate this situation properly with his lack of understanding. Even so, he couldn’t jump on the fact that the cop was…stalking? Eren.  That was kind of silly. 

“But… Why would he stalk you? I don’t mean for this to sound how it’s going to, but what’s so special about you that a thirty-something year old guy-cop-let’s not forget about that part-would want to follow you around? It doesn’t make any sense.” 

Jean was right. Of course he was right. Eren knew that there wasn’t anything special about him to some random cop. He’d just convinced himself of that earlier that afternoon. But it still didn’t change the fact that there he was, constantly having run ins with that weirdo. 

It was those eyes he had. Those piercing, grey eyes that looked so cold. Eren shivered just thinking about him and he shook his head, trying to shake his thoughts away from Levi and to other things. Warmer things. Happier things… Like Jean. And that kiss—those kisses, rather. Plural. Yeah, he’d had multiple kisses from him. That’s right. 

He tightened his hand around Jean’s again and smiled as he thought back to the monkey bars. It was so sudden and everything felt rushed or jumbled up together when he tried to remember it. “You like me, huh?” 

Jean was still stuck on that previous line of conversation regarding Levi, so the question took him off guard for a second until he could catch up with the topic shift.  Of course he thought back to earlier when Eren asked him and he nodded, glancing down at their hands. It was then that he realized his hand was in a tighter grip. 

“Aheh…. Well, I did kiss you. What else would that mean?” Jean asked with a smile spreading coyly across his face. 

Eren smirked and shrugged, feeling almost stupid at how sheepish he felt suddenly. “Shut up, okay? You don’t answer a question with another question. It tarnishes your credibility. Only liars answer questions with questions. “

Jean rolled his eyes at that. “’I’m not lying. I like you. I’ve liked you for a while, actually. Every time I came into the shop and you were there, didn’t you notice me always trying to talk to you?”

“I noticed you always teasing me about something and me trying to ignore you,” Eren replied with a bit of a frown, though there was still a playful tone to his voice as he said it. “You’re pretty persistent you know. Of course I noticed, you dumbass.”

After that Jean gave Eren a soft, playful shove and then pulled him close again to get back on track to his apartment.  Jean begged to come inside when they got there, but Eren had to tell him no several times before he got the hint and took the answer. They shared a few more kisses there at the front door, Eren leaned up against the cool metal with Jean right up against him. The heat of his body balanced out the cold of the air and neither wanted to stop or let go, though they knew eventually they’d have to. 

Reluctantly, they finally broke their kiss and after one more final “No, Jean,” Eren unlocked the door and headed inside, locking the door after him.

With a sigh, he made his way to his bedroom, took off his coat, dropped it onto the chair at his desk, and plopped onto his bed. He nuzzled his face into the pillow and hummed softly, closing his eyes and enjoying how soft and fluffy the pillow felt against the side of his face. His bed was warm and he could feel himself slowly start to drift off to sleep as he thought about the evening’s previous events. That is, until he remembered Levi. 

He opened his eyes when he thought of that guy and he sat up in his bed, looked over at the clock, noting it was half past 2AM. He needed a shower. 

The water was hot as it hit Eren’s skin, turning it pink where the stream managed to hit. He pushed his face under the fall of the water, furrowing his brows as he let the heat wash over him, warm him up even more, and hopefully calm him down. 

The thoughts of Levi really bothered him. Was he honestly being all that ridiculous over the whole thing? Really, Eren never realized how easy he was to scare in a situation like that. He was certain he’d never been stalked before. Not even in high school where it would be the easiest. Of course, he had a few admirers, secret crushes who put folded up confessions into his locker during class change, but nothing like a true stalker. 

Eren tilted his head back into the stream of water, ran his fingers through his hair, took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.  Perhaps it really was just a coincidence he’d run into him so often? 

Either way, he was thinking about it too much for his liking and he promptly decided to think on other things like what was going to happen later that weekend at the D&D gathering, possible date ideas with Jean (wow that was so weird to say), and what he was going to do tomorrow. He had the day off so perhaps if Jean was free, they could get together then? 

Suddenly Eren’s mood had done a complete 180 and when he’d hopped out of the shower and headed back to his room, towel wrapped around his waist, he hurried on to bed to sleep. If they were going to do something, he’d definitely have to catch some shut eye. 

Levi, on the other hand, was wide awake. He was down at the shooting range with Erwin, letting off a bit of steam like they were known to do when Levi was tense.  This happened a lot, but he was actually glad that Erwin was always there with him. Unlike most people, Erwin was someone Levi actually liked having around and he willingly kept him around quite a lot. 

Their patrol had been overall boring minus that one, little setback that pushed Levi almost to his breaking point. 

He held his gun firmly, slowly wrapping his fingers around the grip and rose the weapon up to line the sights with his target. It was only a paper target with a grey outline of a man, but Levi imagined someone else down at the end of the lane.

With a fury he emptied the entire clip, metal clinking all around him and bouncing off the surfaces of the walls and counter in front, hitting the floor by his feet. All twelve rounds hit the paper and when Levi pulled the target back up to where he was, he grinned fondly at the accuracy of where the shots hit. 

“Whoa, starting to get better at your aim,” Erwin noted, taking a look at Levi’s efforts with a smile, also. 

“Yeah, I seemed to have found a bit of inspiration.” Levi dropped the magazine out of the gun and popped in a fresh one, put up a new target, then started the whole cycle over again. 

Erwin perked a brow at him, watching as Levi continued with his practice. “Inspiration, huh? I wonder what that could mean.”

“It means I’ve found muse, Erwin. A lot of it, in fact.” Another smile pulled at the corner of his lips.

“I didn’t know fire practice needed muse.” 

“There are a lot of things you don’t know.”

“…A shame, really,” Erwin commented, leaning up against the wall as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Levi looked over at him and perked a brow.  It didn’t take Erwin long to know that was a signal for him to go on. 

“My ignorance,” he stated flatly. “You’re hiding something from me. I think you should fill me in, don’t you?”

Levi looked over at him for a little while, assessing the situation as if working with a criminal who had to be manipulated into tripping up. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” 

Erwin bristled at that and grabbed the gun out of Levi’s hand, pushing it down to the counter and took a hold of his chin, tilting it up so that he was forced to look Erwin in the eye.  Levi frowned instantly, almost a snarl at the motion, but he let Erwin hold him there and didn’t fight back. There was no use in it. Violence was only necessary where it was due. 

“Don’t treat me like some kind of idiot, Levi. I’ve known you for much longer than that; I know what you’re like when you’re hiding something—when things are bothering you.  I think you forget that I’ve been covering your ass for years, so you might as well spill it right now and tell me what it is that you’re so hung up on.” 

“It’s none.  Of your. Concern.” Levi almost spat the words at him, looking right into his eyes as he spoke. He wanted Erwin to know that he wasn’t allowed to pry when he wasn’t invited. Knowing him for some odd years meant nothing to the shorter officer when it came to his private life, his personal thoughts and feelings. Only he was allowed to say when someone was or was not to know information.  “It doesn’t pertain to you, Officer Smith. There might be things wrong with me and by God don’t think that I don’t know that.  But everything in my life doesn’t need your seal of approval and you don’t deserve to know every, little detail that my mind ponders up. Do you understand that?—“ 

“Levi, I’m serious—“ 

“Because I don’t think you do…”

What could he do? Levi was staring him down and there really wasn’t much that could be done in terms of forcing information out of a fellow officer. That was what the problem was with Erwin. He respected those boundaries far too much to push them out of the way and Levi knew that. That’s why he didn’t have to try very hard to get Erwin to back off and leave him be. They were equals in terms of rank, but Erwin was loyal and held too much respect for the system to ever try and “break” it, no matter what way you used the word.

“Now let me go,” Levi commanded, jerking his chin out of Erwin’s grip and turned towards his firing lane again. He picked up the gun, but he paused, staring down at it for a moment as he thought to himself on the matters that had transpired earlier that evening. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do about it, that man who was all over Eren. It riled Levi up and he gripped the gun tighter before looking up at Erwin again. His expression was completely livid. “If I need you, I’ll tell you.” 

In all fairness, Erwin treated Levi well and he deserved his respect so when he said he was sorry for being cold, he was honest even if it didn’t sound like a proper apology. Erwin knew, though; he could tell.  

With a nod, Erwin gave Levi’s shoulder a heavy pat and he smiled, “Alright. Also, let’s wrap up here soon. We’ve been down here for almost an hour and I’m absolutely starved.  Want to come over for dinner?” 

“It’s almost 3AM,” Lev i responded, but he smiled with a nod and accepted the offer. “Sure. Impress me with your culinary skills.”

“Don’t I always?” 

Of course he did and that night was no exception.  The scent of perfectly seasoned steak filled the apartment as Erwin made their dinner, plating it with culinary skill before he brought it to the table.  Levi was already sitting down and he smiled when his plate was put in front of him. 

“You’ve outdone yourself again, Erwin,” he said as he took a small sniff of his dinner. “The asparagus is practically glistening…” 

With a laugh, Erwin popped the cork off a wine bottle and filled their glasses halfway. “It can’t be a complete dinner without a Zinfandel, 2007.” 

Levi practically purred, swirling the contents of the glass gently before taking a sip, “Mm, I hear it was a wonderful year.” 

“It most definitely was,” Erwin replied, taking a seat across the table from his friend.  “I’ve been saving that bottle for a little while now. You know how I am about wine: such a stickler.” 

A hum was all he received in response, though Levi did nod along with the small sound. He gave his glass another gentle swirl before taking a second sip. It really was delicious, the wine, and if the food was as good as the wine was, which Levi knew it would be, then his evening was going to end a whole lot better than it began. 

“I hear Petra’s been keeping her eyes on you,” Erwin spoke right before putting a piece of his steak into his mouth, letting out a soft moan of satisfaction at how delicious his own cooking was. 

Levi perked an eyebrow and made no such noise upon taking his first bite, “Of course she has. She can’t keep her hands off me. Did you know she tries to touch me at least once a day? Somehow? She knows I can’t stand it, yet she does it anyway. Apparently she finds my reactions ‘cute’ so she says.” 

A bit of muffled laughter filled the room and Erwin held a napkin to his lips to stay polite. He didn’t want to launch his potatoes all over the dining table. That wouldn’t be very attractive or sanitary. “Now you’re a ladies’ man?” 

“Oh shut up, you know that I’m being serious. If I could pawn her affections off onto somebody else I would, but nobody wants to talk to her or get close enough to her to get her away from me.  Believe me. I’ve tried.” The latter end of his statement sort of rolled on even after he finished speaking and Erwin smirked again at how desperate Levi seemed to be feeling about the situation. “It isn’t that she’s unattractive.” 

“Oh?” Erwin didn’t realize Levi had more to say. Now it sounded as though he was back peddling, something he didn’t seem to ever do.

“No, she’s a very beautiful woman. Any man who ended up with her would be extremely lucky to have someone like her, but I don’t like her. At all. She’s annoying and pushy and she moves things around on my desk to be ‘helpful’ she calls it. Did—Did you know that she poured me a cup of coffee the other day without my asking?” Lev narrowed his eyes a bit when he looked at Erwin.

“That bitch.” 

“She put sugar in it, Erwin. Everyone and their mothers down at the precinct know that I hate sugar in my coffee. I hardly ever put creamer in it, let alone sugar,” he shook his head as he cut through his steak, mumbling annoyingly to himself.

“Why didn’t you just bring it to me, then?  I’ll drink anything; it doesn’t matter to me. Besides, my office is just down the hall from yours. It isn’t that much of a walk… Don’t tell me you actually drank the coffee—“ 

“Good God, no,” he answered, taking a drink off his wine. “I poured it out in the plants.”

Erwin blinked at that, “The plants…?”

“Yes, the plants. Are you deaf? The plants. The plants that are right beside my door when you first walk in. Those plants.”

Levi was starting to get irritated again.

“So that’s why they started to turn a little brown and wilted, huh?” A smile was spreading across Erwin’s face again and he tried his best to hide it, but Levi seemed to catch on before there was even a chance. 

“…Wipe that grin off your face; they’re only plants. I can buy more if those die. Besides, why would I waste my time coming into your office just to give you a cup of overly sweetened coffee? It’s a waste of time. I have much better things to do with it, you know.” 

“With what, the coffee?” 

“My time!”

Levi swore up and down that he was going to kill this man one day. He was going to tie him up and gut him right there in the middle of his kitchen like a holiday pig. With a huff he put down his silverware and crossed his arms, the metal hitting the porcelain plate causing a shrill clatter. 

“I should leave,” Levi said, pouting while he dabbed the left side of his mouth and looking down into his lap to avoid eye contact. “I should just get up and leave right now.” 

“Oh, but you won’t do that.” 

“And why not?” 

That time Levi did look up at Erwin to find him smiling again. Perhaps it never left his face? 

“Because you haven’t even finished your dinner yet,” he replied, pointing his  fork at Levi’s still half-full plate.

“I do believe that is the point.” 

“You also won’t get what you came here for. “Levi perked a brow. “Come now, let’s be serious adults here. Who comes over for dinner, with wine and steak and an amazing dessert waiting in the fridge, just to up and leave?”

He had a point. Levi did want something else out of the man. 

“Are you flirting with me, Mr. Smith?” Levi asked coyly, resting his head on the back of his hand, elbow on the table. 

“Please. Mr. Smith is my father.” 

“And you’re about as corny as last night’s shit. Clean up while I take a shower, then we’ll talk about ulterior motives,” Levi replied with a grin wider than he’d worn all day. 

Erwin was a big man in many different ways and he pleased Levi with every, single one of those ways. He was the special kind of person who earned the right to see Levi squirm underneath him and find out what he sounded like in the midst of pure pleasure. 

Heavy breaths and loud voices filled the bedroom once the dishes and bodies were clean. Wrists were tied and eyes were blindfolded to increase that sense of excitement through the both of them and Levi hoped that one day soon it was going to be Eren who was screaming for him, writhing underneath Levi’s body and begging for more.  He imagined it as Erwin fucked him senseless, what Eren was going to look and sound like. It sent shivers straight through his body and he grit his teeth when he felt a particularly strong thrust. 

He was going to fuck Eren just like that, so hard that he’s screaming to the top of his lungs, just like Levi was right then. So loudly that the neighbors would pound at the walls and beg for silence because they had work in the morning and couldn’t afford to be late again. So roughly that the bed was going to pound against the wall in protest to the neighbor who was complaining. That would be his answer.

All heavy breathing and light kisses, Levi reached over to the nightstand for a cigarette, breaking the contact for al light. He blew the smoke away from Erwin, not wanting to be inconsiderate, and he rested there on his chest, pulling the ashtray nearby. Erwin didn’t smoke, but he kept a pack of cigarettes and the ashtray there for moments like those, where they would fight at dinner, then fuck in apology. 

Levi took a drag off the cigarette, flicked the ashes in the tray as he blew the smoke out once again, and hummed softly in thought.

“What is it?” Erwin asked as he ran his fingers through Levi’s messy hair that still stuck to his face from sweat. 

“Pondering,” he replied.

“Mm,” Erwin nodded. Levi pondered a lot.

“Do you remember that Eren kid from the accident?” 

Though he never did lead Erwin on to know what his ponderings were about, “He was on the report you wrote. The accident involving the hit and run?” 

Levi nodded, rolling the end of the cigarette between his forefinger and thumb. 

“What about him?” 

Grey eyes looked up to meet Erwin’s blue and he sat up, took one last hit off his cigarette, then crushed it into the ashtray. “I want him.”

 


	6. Coffee and Breakfast Biscuits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay in this chapter, but remember how my dad went to the hospital a few months ago? Well, he had to go back, though this time was kidney failure. He's okay now, but the past month has been super chaotic with his health issues, my own health issues. I'd been taking some time away from the computer because of my eyes, but i"m getting glasses this week so that should help! 
> 
> Anyway, now that we have that out of the way, I hope you enjoy this chapter! It might be a little short, I'm not too sure, but I wanted to go ahead and get this out for all of you! I've made you all wait for too long as it is. 
> 
> So without further to do, here's chapter six! Do enjoy~

How it was going to happen was going to need a lot of planning. They’d have to make sure not to be seen, figure out how to capture Eren properly, and they could not hurt him. Levi was very stern about that fact. They couldn’t hurt him in the process of capturing him.  Whatever happened after he was brought to Levi’s apartment, however, was a different matter. But that wasn’t what was important at that very moment. No, what was important was figuring out how to do everything fluidly without being caught or suspected. Everything would have to be planned perfectly. No slip-ups. No mistakes. Levi knew how dangerous the whole idea was. One wrong move and it would all fall apart.

Erwin happened to go along with the idea, though he didn’t forget to try and talk Levi out of it all. Did he realize how dangerous it was to kidnap someone? Of course he did. Did he know he could lose his job? Yeah, he knew that, too. And he could get thrown into prison for life? That wasn’t lost on him, either.

No matter what Erwin happened to tell Levi, he just wasn’t having it.

“You’re fucking insane,” Erwin called him, but Levi neither agreed with him or denied the accusation. He only looked up at him with that same cold, empty stare he always seemed to carry on his face.

The whole thing had Erwin’s stomach in knots. That was not what he was expecting to deal with when he asked to help Levi with his problem. He didn’t know it was that kind of problem or else he might have left him alone.

Or would he have?

Erwin definitely didn’t owe Levi anything. Actually, Levi owed Erwin, but he was such a loyal person to Levi that there wasn’t any way he could just sit back and watch him do something so stupid and potentially hurt himself. Granted, Erwin was possibly hurting himself in the process rather than saving Levi some trouble, but he ignored that thought and pushed it to the side.

If he could keep an eye on Levi and make sure he didn’t mess up, Erwin would sleep better at night. He was good at cleaning up Levi’s messes, or preventing them.

The ride to the station was quiet, peppered with occasional chatter about what someone read in the newspaper that morning at breakfast or about some of the people they disliked working with (Petra proved to continue to be a popular topic).

“Levi!” Petra popped up out of seemingly nowhere, two cups in her hand which Levi could only assume was more of that hideously sweet sludge she liked to call coffee. That wasn’t what he wanted to see only a few steps into the building.

He perked a brow at her after stopping to see her overly happy face, but promptly resumed to walking towards the break room to get himself a cup of _real_ coffee.

Like a lost puppy, Petra followed after him, chatting both Levi and Erwin up as they made their way back further into the station, walking past the offices and into the break room. “Oh, Levi, here I already made you a cup of coffee.” She held out the cup and smiled, but Levi didn’t return the gesture.

Instead, he poured the coffee from the pot into his cup, turned to look at her and stirred it a bit with a stirring straw as he stared her down. Almost instantly her smile faded and she lowered her hand some, swallowing thickly.

“U-um…” She started, but was interrupted with Erwin stepping in. He held out his hand for the coffee that was originally made for Levi and cleared his throat.

“I’ll take it,” he said, his smile almost as bright as Petra’s once was before Levi killed it with his glare. “I haven’t had my coffee yet this morning.”

That was a lie. He’d had a cup before leaving his apartment, but he wasn’t about to let her know that. Not when he knew that she’d made the coffee out of good intentions. It broke his heart to see her so crestfallen.

“O-oh, you like coffee, Erwin? For some reason, you looked like a tea kind of guy,” she replied, feeling, and looking, much better at having her coffee accepted by someone.

He gave a sort of nod-shrug as he brought the cup up to his lips and took a small sip. It was rather sweet, a lot sweeter than he’d make his own coffee, but he could tolerate it at least for appearances.  The poor girl seemed to be trying so hard to gain Levi’s attention and she was getting shot down left and right.

“I like tea, too. I just prefer coffee. It wakes me up much easier than a cup of tea would,” Erwin replied.

Levi rolled his eyes, grabbed his cup, and turned to head into his office, murmuring under his breath, “Get a room.”

Petra flushed brightly at that and she shook her head, reaching out for Levi, but when he seemed too far away, she turned towards Erwin and held up her free hand. “N-no, I wasn’t—I mean—I’m sorry!”

Erwin lifted a hand and waved it, closing his eyes and shaking his head from side-to-side as if to brush it off as nothing. He wasn’t offended and he knew Levi was only causing trouble because, well, that’s what he was good at, wasn’t it.

“Don’t worry about it. Just go ahead and start on your work. Thanks for the coffee,” he stated, giving her another nod before following after Levi at a leisurely pace.  She nodded, covered the side of her face with a hand to hide her blush and hurried off to her part of the station to get to work.

“What was that?” Erwin asked as he closed the door to Levi’s office just a tad too harshly. It was enough to shake the metallic blinds and cause a clatter.

Levi grimaced at the sound as he glanced over his shoulder. He had been looking out the window onto the cityscape, sipping at his coffee before being rudely interrupted. “What was what?” In all actuality he knew what Erwin was talking about, but Levi wanted to play innocent.

“You know what. Did you even see the look on her face when you rejected her?” Erwin asked, walking up to Levi.

“Of course I did. I was looking right at her—“ Levi was cut short by a strong hand grabbing a fistful of his crisp uniform shirt and jerking him forward.  The coffee in his hand spilled over the lip of the Styrofoam cup and hit his bare hand, causing him to let go of the cup completely. “N-gh.”

Erwin ignored the coffee that landed on their shoes and he glared down at Levi, eyes narrowed and practically piercing through the shorter officer’s skull. “Get off your fucking high horse. She didn’t do anything wrong except try to kill you with kindness. You’ve got no right—none—to treat her like some kind of leper.

“Now, I’ll help you with this Eren thing if that’s what you want, but don’t take shit out on Petra when she hasn’t even deserved it.”

Levi’s eyes widened a little bit and he glanced over Erwin’s shoulder towards the door as if scared someone could hear them talking. Just mentioning Eren’s name caused Levi to prickle. He looked at Erwin again and glared, “You idiot. Don’t talk so openly about it,” he whispered harshly and gripped at the taller man’s wrist, trying to pull himself free but it proved to be a fruitless effort when he stayed right there in his grasp.

“That’s my catch. Treat Petra with respect or I’ll expose your sick plan,” Erwin growled through tight lips. He supposed that was his way of coping. Petra had to deal with Levi’s shit every day. At least he would get to settle that, if anything at all.

Of course Levi was livid at that thread and he practically growled at Erwin, digging his nails into the flesh of the man’s wrist. The blonde didn’t seem to even notice.  “…Fine.”

What else could he do but comply?

“What,” Levi continued on, glaring right back at Erwin. “Do you have a crush on her, too? Go ahead. Have her for all I care.”

“It isn’t like that,” the blonde replied, his voice going a little softer. “I need leverage and you’re a little shit. “

Levi didn’t argue that.

Once Erwin’s hand was loose, Levi jerked out of his grasp and smoothed out his shirt, gathering his composure. “Relax, Erwin. Nobody has to do anything rash, alright? I’ll tolerate the girl for you if that means I’m guaranteed my boy.”He looked up at the other, his eyes returning to their cold stare.

Erwin nodded and bent down to pick up the Styrofoam cup off the floor. He walked over to the trashcan underneath Levi’s desk and he tossed the cup. “Consider treating Petra with respect repayment.” He looked at Levi after saying that and their eyes met. They lingered there for what felt like forever before he turned around and walked out the office, making sure the door didn’t slam that time.

Suddenly, it seemed, things had gotten tricky. Levi never thought Erwin would be jealous. He knew the man had feelings for him, but for him to actually act out in jealousy was a surprise even to Levi who had known the man for years.

 

***

 

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

Eren jerked up out of bed when he heard the door banging and rushed out of his room to answer it, tripping over a pile of dirty laundry he’d yet to take into the wash room. Fell right to his knees in his half asleep stooper and crawled the rest of the way to the door. “I-I’m coming!”

“Hey there, Sleeping Beauty,” Jean said with a smirk as Eren opened the door. He frowned instantly and pushed his boyfriend’s shoulder before  turning around and heading towards his bedroom again. “Hey, come on. That’s no way to treat the person who brought you breakfast.”

Eren paused mid step and turned to look at what Jean was talking about. He hadn’t noticed at first, but once he was able to get a good look at his hands, he realized the horse-face had a McDonald’s bag. “That’s not food.”

“Whaaat? Yes it is. Haven’t you ever had the McGriddles? Man, if you haven’t, you really are missing out,” he replied as he headed for the kitchen table. The bag made a satisfying crackle sound as Jean dug his way through for the two breakfast sandwiches inside.  Eren took a seat and unwrapped his breakfast. It looked okay and it smelled overly sweet of syrup, though it wasn’t sticky at all.

“What the hell is this anyway?” He asked, questioning how something could smell so sweet of syrup yet have none on it.

“Just eat it; you’ll like it,” Jean replied and took a huge bite, himself, cheeks pooching out at the sides like some kind of chipmunk.  Eren grinned and rolled his eyes, but trusted the other male and took a bite as well.

His eyes lit up at the flavor and he looked at Jean, wide-eyed as he started to stuff the sandwich into his mouth. “Thif if gwate!” He managed to push out through the mouth full of food, grabbing Jean’s drink to help him swallow it all down with a satisfying gulp. “And there’s bacon on here, too?”

“Seriously, how have you never eaten one of these things before?” Jean asked, narrowing an eye.

“I always eat breakfast at home. Besides, McDonald’s has a terrible rep. I tend to avoid it in general.”

Jean looked as if he’d just watched someone kick the cutest puppy of all the puppies in the world when he heard Eren say that. “You poor soul…”

Eren scowled, but managed a grin through it. “What? It’s just fast food.”


End file.
